


For Forever

by strawberrylovely



Series: Shance: The Musical [1]
Category: Shance - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Based on a Dear Evan Hansen Song, Childhood Memories, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Memories, Secret Relationship, Summer, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unhappy Ending, but the rest makes up for it i hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 03:23:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13449495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylovely/pseuds/strawberrylovely
Summary: An afternoon sun burns bright as two teenage boys drive down the winding country road. Summer is upon them, which means time away from school to hang out with family, friends, but mostly each other. Hot summer days to spend swimming in lakes or pools, cool summer nights to spend... well, together.





	For Forever

**Author's Note:**

> yes, like the dear evan hansen song
> 
> (it’s 4:30am, if there’s any mistakes i’ll fix em after i wake up lol)

_An afternoon sun burns bright as two teenage boys drive down the winding country road. Summer is upon them, which means time away from school to hang out with family, friends, but mostly each other. Hot summer days to spend swimming in lakes or pools, cool summer nights to spend... well, together._

_They had stopped for ice cream on their way, deciding that it’s too hot outside to go without a scoop or two on their little journey. Songs play on the radio despite the rolled down windows blocking out their sound from wind whipping in and back out. Instead, laughter fills the car as Lance tries his best to feed Shiro bite after bite of quickly melting ice cream while the older boy drives._

_“This isn’t working, Lance.”_

_“Just try one more time,” the brunet says, bringing the spoon up for Shiro to close his mouth around._

_“Lance- Lance! It’s dripping!” Shiro says, trying to keep an eye on the road while ice cream runs down his chin._

_“Sorry!” Lance giggles, and he grabs a napkin to wipe off Shiro’s face._

_“Why don’t you finish yours and I’ll eat mine when we get there.”_

_“But Shiro! Yours will be all melted by then!”_

_“Then I’ll drink it,” Shiro sasses, looking away from the road for a quick moment to smile at Lance._

_They finally arrive at their destination and Shiro pulls his truck into an orchard of tall apple trees, parking with the bed facing the horizon. The place looks abandoned, but there are still a few blooming trees here and there that suggest otherwise. Shiro opens his door and gets out, not forgetting to grab his ice cream, and moves to unlock the tailgate for them to sit. Lance follows closely behind, jumping up onto the flatbed just as Shiro puts down a blanket._

_They sit together a while, finishing their ice creams as they make jokes and tell stories about silly things their teachers did the past semester. The yellow field sways around them and the sun moves lower in the sky signaling the passing of time. Their empty cups become long forgotten behind them while they shoot the breeze._

_A short silence waves over them with the wind as they stare out into the orchard, sky and trees seemingly endless from multiple directions. The silence is enough to make Lance restless, so he jumps off the truck and waits for Shiro to follow him._

_The two walk along, passing tree after tree, most dead but some still hanging onto life. Lance asks what Shiro wants to do after they graduate and Shiro jokes about biking the Appalachian mountains or learning to sail a boat._

_“I’d like to write a book someday,” Lance says matter-of-factly._

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah, wouldn’t that be cool?”_

_“I guess so,” Shiro laughs. “What about?”_

_“Me,” Lance says, raising his shoulder like a model._

_They both laugh at his answer, the younger boy’s conceit at an all time high._

_“Not really,” he continues, quieter. “Maybe I’ll write a book about you.”_

_Looking down, he reaches over and taps Shiro’s hand gently with his before entwining their fingers. The older boy jumps and looks around to see if anyone is out there to catch them._

_“It’s okay. It’s just us,” Lance comforts._

_Shiro nods and squeezes Lance’s hand in his own, relaxing as they continue walking through the empty field._

_“You know something?” Lance says after a while._

_“Hmm?”_

_“There’s no where else I’d rather be than right here with you.”_

_“...Me too,” Shiro replies, shy smile spread across his face._

_They gaze at each other for a moment, blue eyes staring hopelessly into grey, before Lance turns away to look back out to the field._

_“I mean, the view is just beautiful,” he teases._

_“You know what else is beautiful?” Shiro tries._

_“You.”_

_Shiro’s face flushes, not expecting Lance to turn his would-be compliment back on himself._

_“Are you blushing?” Lance asks smugly._

_“Shut up,” Shiro says, releasing their hands and pushing the giggling boy away from him playfully._

_Lance fixes himself back in his spot next to Shiro with his hands in his pockets. Smiles linger as their shoulders bump each other’s and another silence falls on them while they stroll along the yellowing grass beneath their feet._

_It’s as if Lance spots something far in the distance, because all of a sudden, he’s running as fast as he can to get to it. “Follow me!” he calls from far across the field, and Shiro quickly picks up his own pace to chase after him._

_As Shiro catches up, he sees what had caught Lance’s eye. The tallest and fullest tree stands high above both of them as they look on from below._

_“Race you to the top,” Lance says, the only notice he gives before he starts climbing up the limbs of the tree._

_Shiro follows, one branch after the other, higher and higher until they both reach as far as they can go. The top of the tree is open enough for them to stick their bodies through and they position themselves on branches to look out._

_“Whoah,” Shiro says._

_From the highest point of the tallest tree, the two boys can see the earth below them for miles. Over them, it feels like the sky goes on forever. Shiro squints as he looks around, trying to block out the sun before he closes his eyes and smiles right into it, the heat spreading over his face and outstretched arms like a warm hug._

_And suddenly he’s being kissed._

_“Wha- Lance!”_

_He moves back away from the other male quickly and loses his balance. But Lance’s hand shoots out and tugs on his shirt, bringing him back up and into Lance’s space again._

_“Lance... You- We ca- It’s-“_

_“Takashi,” Lance says with a hand on Shiro’s face to calm him down. “There’s no one else out here. That’s why we came here, isn’t it? To be alone? Besides, we’re too far up. No one will see us, not even from the road. We’re safe here.”_

_“I-“ Shiro looks around again, down to the road a few miles away where a singular car drives along, faces completely unrecognizable from the windows. “You promise?” he asks, turning back to Lance._

_“I promise,” Lance nods._

_This time, Shiro leans in first and connects their lips. It’s been far too long since they’ve kissed, as they only kiss in private for fear of being outed to their friends and families. It shows on the boys’ faces as their smiles interrupt them, both trying to kiss the other but their mouths betraying them with their own happiness._

_The world around them stops moving. The wind, the trees, the clouds, the cars on the road, time itself, everything slows to a halt and it’s only Shiro and Lance forever._

_Lance catches Shiro’s lips between his teeth and suddenly their smiles disappear and are replaced with soft gasps. Shiro leans closer and pulls Lance’s face into his, kissing so hard it almost hurts. Lance laughs and readjusts the angle, happily accepting Shiro’s eagerness and matching it with his own. The older boy shifts closer and puts a hand out to rest on another branch and it creaks under the pressure, but he ignores it and pushes back as Lance leans away._

_“I love you,” Lance says breathlessly. His cheeks are dusted pink and a look of adoration shines through his half-lidded eyes._

_“You-“ Shiro pants. His own eyes grow wide as realization comes to him._

_Lance loves him. He’d saved that word for him and him alone._

_“I-“_

_Shiro doesn’t have time to answer, however, as the branch creaks again, louder, and suddenly he feels himself falling._

_He doesn’t, however, feel the impact._

_Yellow is all Shiro can see, save for the blue of Lance’s shirt as the brunet climbs down the tree after him. His arm feels numb, and his head is dizzy, but all he can think about is Lance._

_“Shiro!” Lance’s voice finally carries into his ears. “Shiro, are you alright?”_

_Lance kneels on the harsh grass next to Shiro, cupping his face and checking his pulse, touching here and there to make sure Shiro is alive._

_“Lance...”_

_“Oh, Shiro! I’m so sorry, this is all my fault. W-We shouldn’t have gone up there. And I shouldn’t have- I’m so-“_

_“You love me,” Shiro croaks out._

_“I- Yeah, yes, I do. But Shiro, y-“_

_“I love you, too.”_

_Lance pauses his worrying to crack a smile at Shiro’s returned feelings._

_“You hit your head,” he says, breathing out a laugh._

_“Still love you.”_

_“You dummy,” Lance shakes his head at the boy under him and presses a firm kiss to his forehead before going back to business. “Are you hurt? How is your back? Can you move your legs?”_

_“My back is fine but... I can’t feel my right arm,” Shiro groans. The pain is finally starting to set in._

_“Oh, my God.”_

_“What?”_

_“Your arm is... bent the wrong way. I think it’s broken,” Lance says, his face completely pale. “Can you walk to the truck? We need to get you to the hospital.”_

_“Yeah.”_

_Lance helps Shiro up and they hobble as fast as they can across the field to Shiro’s truck. Once they’re in, Lance pulls them out of the orchard and starts along that same country road as fast as he can._

_“You’re gonna be okay,” Lance says, glancing over to look at the other boy who is leaning against the passenger door, trying his best to keep a brave face._

_“I’m great,” he tries, wincing slightly. “Hey, Lance?”_

_“Yeah, Shiro?”_

_“No matter what, I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.”_

_Lance smiles, reminded of why he loves Shiro so much: the boy always tries to find a happy outlook, even when in the worst of pain._

_“Me too, buddy,” Lance replies, taking Shiro’s left hand. “Me too.”_

 

“Sir? Um, sir?”

“Hmm? Yes?” Shiro says, pulled out of his reverie.

“We’re about to close visiting hours so the family can have alone time with the deceased,” the funeral home director says.

“Oh. Right.”

“Unless, of course, you are family?”

Shiro looks around the dimly lit room as he stands from his seat. Flowers and cards from friends and other family adorn the casket in front of him and he eyes the large framed picture of a happy husband, wife, and children standing on a nearby table. The deceased’s family.

“Uh, no, I...”

He walks over to the casket and takes a look at the man laying there, lithe body stiff and beautiful eyes forever closed.

“We were... friends,” he says. “Good friends.”

It’s a partial truth, but it’s the only truth he can currently give.

“Can I have just one more moment?” he asks.

“I don’t-“

“Please?”

He turns around to look at the director, his eyes pleading for one last second alone.

“Sure, son,” the older man sighs understandingly. “But don’t take too long.”

“Thank you. I’ll only be a minute.”

The director walks out, leaving Shiro alone in the room. He turns back to the casket, to the man he spent so many perfect afternoons with all those years ago when they were only boys. To the one he loved for many summers before military and college and jobs and marriages all got in the way of what could have been.

Shiro walks to the table with the picture frame. The man looks so happy in the photograph. Shiro remembers that smile, would recognize it anywhere. He’d kissed it enough to have it memorized. But, perhaps not enough, he supposes.

The guest book on the table is open to the most recent page and Shiro writes his name down, wondering if the family will know who he is when they read back through the list of visitors.

Shiro walks back to the casket one last time. He covers cold hands with a warm one, hands that were never meant to be this cold. Hands that Shiro had once held and kissed and wanted on him at all times. Hands that had barely aged since he last touched them.

An accident, they had said — his family. His true family.

Well Shiro’s his true family too, no matter how long or far apart they are. They’ll always be family. Even now. Forever.

Shiro leans down and presses a kiss to the man’s forehead. The stark contrast of his earlier memory to the now frozen body below shocks him, and tears appear in his eyes, threatening to spill over down his face.

“Goodbye, Lance,” he whispers.

And he swears, before he leaves, he can hear Lance’s laughter in his ears.

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve never done major character death before........i’m so sorry
> 
> whatever you do, don’t listen to [the song](https://youtu.be/xkdPRcY0k4o) while envisioning it as shiro giving lance’s eulogy. don’t do it. (or do. personally i love pain)
> 
>  
> 
> If you like this fic, please feel free to leave me a comment telling me how much you hate me, and maybe consider buying me a [coffee!](http://ko-fi.com/natdashg) Thank you!


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